Bittersweet Melody
by Electric Splatter
Summary: Music is the best solution to any problem. So Ally Dawson does what any girl dealing with her first heartbreak would do: avoids the guy like the plague, writes a bestselling album, tours around the country, and stops answering the phone. Ally-centric. Auslly. Incredibly long oneshot.


**AN:** Music is the best solution to any problem. So Ally Dawson does what any girl dealing with her first heartbreak would do: avoids the guy like the plague, writes a bestselling album, tours around the country, and stops answering the phone. Ally-centric. Auslly. Incredibly long onshot.

Timeline: Austin and Ally became partners before freshmen year. Austin goes on tour the summer before sophomore year. This starts off in the beginning of September of their junior year.

I don't own Austin and Ally or any of the music used in this.

* * *

_I see you calling again. I don't want to pick up, no. I've been laying in bed, probably thinking too much._

Being in love with your best friend is a cliché Ally's heard many times before. Once upon a time she even used to think it was adorable. However, most people weren't in love with their best friend slash music partner. She was just unlucky like that.

It's hard enough to try and hide it when they're just hanging out. Austin is always doing stupid, sweet things for her. He was always there: texting her, waiting for her at her locker, coming to see her at the store, telling her his and Dez's latest scheme, bringing her a pickle on a stick because he saw it and thought of her. Ally knows he'd do anything for her and the same goes for her. She just wished his smile didn't make her weak in the knees or she got all jittery when they touched.

It's working with him that's the real challenge. Writing love songs with the guy you're in love with is no walk in the park. Her heart just about stops every time their hands brush on the piano. She often has to mentally shake herself for getting caught up in his deep brown eyes when he's singing. Fortunately the few times he's noticed she was able to convince him she zoned out thinking up a new melody.

She missed the days when she loathed him and wanted to smack him with his corndog drumsticks. Her fifteen year old self was obviously a lot smarter than her current seventeen year old one.

Her phone ringing brings her out of her thoughts. Austin's name is flashing on the screen. Ally watches it for a moment before setting it back down on her bed and letting it go the voicemail. She's not in the mood for heartbreak and headaches tonight.

_Somebody turn the lights on. Somebody tell me what's wrong. I'd be lying if I told you, losing you was something I could handle._

Austin frowns as the familiar, "_Ally's phone! Leave a message!"_ plays and hangs up. She's been ignoring his calls lately and he can't figure it out. If she was mad about something he wished she'd just tell him. He misses her. He feels like he sees her less and less these days and he doesn't like it.

He knows they both have their careers to worry about, but they always used to make time for each other before. He still saw her when it was the four of them, but it wasn't the same.

Ever since this year began he feels like they've been drifting apart. He's losing his best friend. Dez is his best friend too in a different way, and in a different way than Trish is. She's his friend, his songwriter, his partner, and a lot more. He doesn't know what he'd do if she wasn't around.

He redials Ally's number and gets her voicemail again. "Hey, Alls. It's Austin. Give me a call when you get this." He hangs up and stares at his phone with a scowl on his face. Eventually he falls asleep.

She never calls him back that night.

_I almost wrote a song, about you today. But I tore it all up and then I threw it away._

They _never _talk about the brief time they dated. It is an unspoken agreement between the four of them. They are all best friends and don't want to ruin that by bringing up old feelings and awkwardness. They act as if it didn't even happen.

Ally can't decide if this is for the better or not. On the one hand, she didn't really want to talk about it. It was painful and she's wasted more than a couple tissues on it. But acting like their relationship, however brief, didn't matter crushed her.

It was horrible when she first started noticing the signs that he didn't feel that way about her anymore. They'd agreed to stay friends for their careers. She'd just gotten the impression it was more of a break until they were really ready. For a while after they broke up the spark was still there. But over time it faded until she was his best friend only and he was her stereotypical unrequited teen love.

She can't pinpoint the exact moment when it happened. It was a gradual thing. In the beginning there had been tension and quiet moments and way too many almost kisses. Then he started keeping his distance. He talked to her like any other girl friend. He started flirting with other girls whether she was there or not.

Ally thinks the worst part is that the only person she wanted to talk about her broken heart with was the person who broke it. She could talk to Trish, but she doesn't want there to be sides or ever let him know she's still hung up on him.

She tries _so _hard not to mess up their group. She truly does. She wants to be over Austin so she can stop making everything weird. She wants it to be Team Austin and Ally. But it isn't getting any easier, and she's not sure how much more of this she can take.

_And I never, saw you coming. And I'll never, be the same._

He didn't avoid looking at her when he sang anymore. On the contrary, he often looked for her and gave her his huge grin that made her stomach feel a little funny.

It was just another one of those little things that she ended up thinking about late at night. He was just reinforcing that they're friends, just friends, best friends.

But Ally feels like her heart cracks a tiny bit more every time it happens. She's not going to be able to recognize the poor, abused thing soon. So she starts making up excuses for skipping his performances. She had to go to the studio, she had to work on some new songs, she had a meeting with Ronnie, she had to work, and the list goes on.

Austin accepts her reasons without suspicion. He doesn't know what a terrible friend and partner she is. He's a little bummed she won't be there and tells her he'll miss her out there. He hugs her and leaves with a smile and a wave. She doesn't let herself watch him go and only sighs when she's sure he's gone.

_Something always brings me back to you, it never takes too long. No matter what I say or do, I still feel you here, 'til the moment I'm gone._

"You're Ally Dawson, right?" she hears a voice ask behind her while she's at the bank running an errand for her dad. "Austin Moon's songwriter?"

Ally holds back a grimace. Even when she's avoiding him she can't escape him. Everywhere she goes people talk about him. They're used to them being attached at the hip and ask her all about them and their music.

She wishes she could spend just one day without having to hear the name Austin. It's not going to happen anytime soon.

So for now she puts on a smile and answers their questions trying to look like nothing is wrong or different.

_And the memory is rising fast, it's seeping in through every crack. Oh funny how it all comes back, when you're trying to forget it._

Ally is walking down the hall making a mental checklist of things to do when she gets to the store when she sees it: Austin flirting with a pretty girl in the grade above them by their lockers.

She freezes for a moment and stares in shock. The girl flips her hair casually and Austin flashes her his heart-melting smile and lightly touches her arm. Ally wishes she could look away, but she can't bring herself to.

She does notice that she's blocking the hallway though and starts walking towards the couple. She clenches her hands into fists to hide that fact that they're trembling just a tiny bit. She takes what she hopes is a subtle deep breath.

Then Austin laughs at something the girl says. Nope, this isn't going to work for Ally. Not when it's like her heart is starting to break and her lunch of quesadillas feels like it's about to make a reappearance.

Ally spins on her heels and speeds into the closest girls' bathroom. She locks herself in the stall farthest from the door and sits down. Then she lays her head on her knees and refuses to let herself cry.

She tells herself she's being an idiot. Austin talks to lots of girls. It might not mean anything. This isn't the first time she's seen him flirt with someone. But she's seen the way he's looking at her before. It's how he used to look at her whenever he said he could do anything as long as he was with her.

After she's composed herself she exits the stall and splashes water on her face because she's weak a let a couple tears slip. She blows her nose with a piece of toilet paper then turns to the mirror to evaluate her appearance. It's not pretty. She couldn't care less. She exits the bathroom and walks down the hallway without meeting anyone's eyes.

Ally gets to her locker and is almost done packing up her stuff when Austin pops up and leans on the lockers next to hers.

"Hey, where were you?" asks Austin curiously. "I've been waiting for you."

"That's not all you were doing," mutters Ally darkly while refusing to meet his gaze.

"What did you say?" he asks innocently leaning closer not knowing what it will do to her already crippled heart.

"Someone sprayed perfume when I walked by and it got in my eyes," she lies slamming the locker and putting some distance between them quickly. "I had to go flush them out in the bathroom."

"Are you okay?" asks Austin frantically. "Is there anything I can do? Do you need me to-"

"Stop," snaps Ally causing them to both pause in shock. She never acts like this. But with him standing so close and looking so concerned after everything it's just too much.

"I'm sorry, Austin," she says weakly. "It's just been a crappy day and I shouldn't take it out on you. I'll see you tomorrow."

She moves to leave but he doesn't catch the hint and falls into step with her. "I thought we were going to work on some new songs today," says Austin hopefully.

They were also supposed to work on new songs yesterday. And the day before. Really she's been putting it off for over a week now. But if she tries to push it back again he might get suspicious.

"Fine," says Ally with a sigh. "Just let me get things organized at the store first. Come by in around an hour."

This time he takes the hint and quits walking with her. She walks out the front doors of the school and not even the cloud shaped like a koala with a top hat can cheer her up.

_I'm so mixed up, there's no doubt. Got me feeling like I'm inside out._

Austin watches Ally walk away from him with a growing feeling of sadness and a tiny bit of anger too. Did she just _sigh _about having to write songs with him?

_But you didn't have to cut me off. Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing._

It's not their best song writing session to put it lightly. It's probably one of their worst. It feels like they're starting over again and don't understand each other anymore. None of their ideas are clicking.

"Maybe we should take a break," suggests Austin after an hour of no progress. He's also hoping he can finally get it out of her what's bothering her.

"I guess," agrees Ally. It's probably the first thing they've agreed on all day. "I'm getting something to drink. Want anything?"

"Whatever you're having is fine," says Austin watching her as she digs through the fridge. He wants to talk this out. He just isn't sure he even knows how to talk to this new, on edge Ally.

"I'm just having a water," says Ally into the fridge. "That cool?"

"Sure," he says catching the bottle she throws him easily. Instead of sitting back down on the piano next to him she sits down on one of the big chairs on the other side of the room. She arranges herself so she's looking out the window.

"I'm surprised you're letting me this close to your book without watching me like a hawk. You must really trust me," he jokes trying to lighten the mood and get her talking. He picks it up and examines it. It's practically falling apart now.

"Oh, I don't use it anymore," says Ally with a shrug.

"What?" Her and that book used to be inseparable. "Why not? You've been using this for as long as I've known you."

"It's full of old kid stuff that I'm never going to use," says Ally walking over and taking it from him. "Plus I don't want to carry around all my secret thoughts that anyone could read."

"So what do write your songs in then?" Austin asks glad she's finally participating in the conversation.

"I bought a new songbook," she says flipping through her old one looking at it with a frown.

"Then why didn't you bring that one today if it has all your new stuff in it?" He takes the book back and sets it down so she's not distracted.

"The new one is just for my songs. We can still use the old one for yours," answers Ally leaning against the piano and still not really looking at him.

His heart sinks when he understands what she's really saying. She doesn't want him to look at her new songs. He knows he's nowhere near as good as her at writing songs, but she's always asked for his opinion before. It was just another thing he could add to the list of weird new things between them.

"Austin, I don't think this is working," says Ally pushing off the piano. "Should we call it a day?"

"We haven't even gotten anything done," points out Austin gloomily. Why does she always have to rush off whenever they're together?

"I know," says Ally awkwardly. "I'm sorry. But it's not like you need a song right now. You're in between albums."

"I guess," says Austin giving up. "How's your album coming along? Are you almost done?"

"I was," says Ally actually fully paying attention for what he thinks is the first time in weeks. He should have known. Music is always the thing that brings them together. "But now it just feels like I'm trying to force it when I know it isn't working anymore. I wrote all the songs. I just can't connect with them anymore."

"What do you think the problem is?" asks Austin trying to keep a triumphant smirk off his face. It almost feels like old times.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," says Ally shaking her head and sitting next to him on the piano bench. "The music is the same. I might be the problem."

"Ally," he says grabbing her hand and finally asking what he's wanted to since they walked through the door. "Are you okay?"

She just stares at him for a long moment but her expression is so heartbroken. She moves his hand and tries to give him a convincing smile. She doesn't quite pull it off.

"You're a good friend, Austin," Ally says sincerely. "Thank you for asking. But I'm fine."

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" he says gently trying to coax real Ally back out instead of this girl.

"I know," she says lightly. Then she gets off the piano and walks to the door. She gives a slight wave and then she's gone.

Austin puts his head in his hands. For a second there he thought he might be on the way to getting his friend back. He's so sick of this, but he can't stop trying. Ally is worth it.

_This tug of war can't go on anymore. Nobody wins from this misery._

Ally wishes she could talk to him about anything. She wishes she didn't have to put on an act in front of him. She's pretty sure he sees right through it anyway. It's her fault, not his. As she walks out she starts coming up with an idea of how to make all of this right.

_It's been so long since I saw you, I was wondering if you were even real._

Austin is once again waiting for Ally at her locker. Ever since their disastrous song writing session she's been like a ghost. He calls. He texts. He is this close to being her stalker. He sees her coming towards him and prepares for another attempt to talk.

"Hey, Austin," says Ally throwing off his plan. She usually doesn't speak to him first anymore. She smiles a little and starts putting her stuff away.

"Hey," he says lamely after a second too long. "Eat lunch with me?"

"Sorry, Austin. I've got to ask Ben something about calculus. I'll talk to you later!" Ally calls over her shoulder as she briskly walks away and turns the corner.

Austin watches her with his mouth half open before shutting it dumbly. He kicks Ally's locker in frustration. What is going on with them? And how is he supposed to fix it if she keeps blowing him off? But most importantly, _who is Ben?_

_Let it go, let it go. Can't hold it back anymore. Let it go, let it go. Turn away and slam the door._

Ally fights off another yawn as a customer asks her about the difference between two brands of trombones. She's been up late all of this week writing like crazy. Before she was trying to keep all her feelings bottled up inside. Now she was letting it all out.

It was also quite a bit darker than her other songs. There was a bit of an edge to the words. She didn't have to hide how she really felt for once. It was refreshing.

It was making work a bit more difficult though. She quickly explains the major differences between brass instruments to the person at the counter. But in her mind she's already back in her room writing songs.

After the person picks their trombone and leaves she takes out her phone and sends out a text before she can chicken out.

'**Mr. Ramone, I've been thinking a lot lately and there are some things I'd like to discuss with you about my album. Can we set up a meeting? No need to go through Trish. Ally'**

_I'm breaking down, gonna start from scratch. Shake it off like an etch a sketch. My lips are saying goodbye, my eyes are finally dry._

It's silent after she finishes playing the demo she worked on all week for this. It was weird doing all of it by herself and hard work. Ally thinks the end result was worth it though. She's sitting on the edge of her seat and watching Ronnie Ramone eagerly for his reaction.

"What's wrong? Do you not like them?" asks Ally nervously when he continues to frown and not say anything.

"No, they're good. They're pretty amazing actually. They're just…" he trails off searching for the right words. "Different. These don't sound like what you usually write."

"Is that a problem?" she asks trying to maintain confidence.

"I just don't think they'll fit in with the rest of the stuff of your album," explains Ronnie. "We're trying to sell to a particular audience. We can't have clashing styles."

"What if we scrapped the old stuff?" Ally asks timidly after a moment. She's taking a big risk and she knows it

"We've already spent a lot of time and money working on and recording the old stuff," he says giving her a hard look. "Do you really want to have to do all that again?"

"It's not that I don't like the old songs; I do. I feel like I've outgrown them a little. I put a lot of myself into these new songs. This is the album I want to make," she says seriously. "I know it's a lot to ask to completely start over, but it'll be worth it in the long run. You said it yourself that the new stuff is amazing. I don't want to release my first album with a bunch of songs that don't feel right."

"These songs are a bit darker than anything I've ever heard from you, Ally. Is everything okay?" She really wished people would stop asking her that.

"I'm fine," she says evenly. "I'm just growing up, gaining new experiences. The new songs show that. And I think more people will be able to connect with them too."

"Alright. We'll do it. Ally's first album 2.0," Ronnie says with finality. "I'm counting on you to make this work, kid. There aren't going to be any breaks like there were before. You're going to be working on this during all of your free time. I'm risking months of work to do this. Don't let me down."

"I won't. I promise," Ally says forcefully. She's so relieved and excited and can't keep the huge smile off her face.

"Are you absolutely sure there aren't _any _songs you want to keep?" asks Ronnie with a bit of desperation. He doesn't want to lose everything.

"Finally Me. I want to keep Finally Me." Overcoming her stage fright still means a lot to her. She doesn't want to lose that feeling.

"Anything else? Redial, Me and You, Parachute?" Ronnie lists off.

"No. Those all go," she says without room for argument. She feels the worst about Redial. Trish didn't do anything wrong. But it really didn't fit in with the rest of her album and sacrifices had to be made.

"And the idea for the duet with Austin?" She was going to ask him as a surprise before everything changed.

"That's out too," she says through clenched teeth. Ronnie seems to get the message and doesn't ask further.

"Okay, Ally. I'm in. You've sold me. Come back tomorrow ready to start recording."

"Thank you so much, Ronnie. Seriously, you won't regret it." She gets up and shakes his hand and flashes him a huge grin.

"I hope not," he says with a smile of his own while shaking his head.

Ally walks out of the office with her head held high. She feels like she's finally on the way to making a name for herself. _Just _herself. It's a great feeling.

_Because you've been taking up my mind with your little white lies, little white lies._

The best thing about having to redo her album is that she no longer has to lie to her friends about being busy. She actually is busy, all the time. Ronnie Ramone wasn't kidding when he said there weren't going to be any breaks.

Ally hasn't told them about what she's doing yet though. She's not ready to share it with them. Honestly, if she could just release it for the rest of the world except for those three it'd be perfect. She tells them she's putting the finishing touches on her album. Her new lies replace the old ones easily.

It is coming together pretty quickly. At the rate they're going it could be done for a November or December release. She's ecstatic and completely terrified about it.

Ally thinks the shadiest part of it all is that she's keeping her manager in the dark. Trish is supposed to be in charge of her career and she's totally been going behind her back. She knows Trish is going to be furious when she finds out.

But she can't bring herself to regret it when she's belting out the lyrics while she's recording. It's one of the best feelings in the world.

_Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart._

Ally plays on her phone while Dez, Trish, and Austin talk about what movie to watch around her. It's a rare event that the four of them are together. The only reason she's here is because Trish caught her off guard and dragged her along when she got off work.

"You can't go wrong with Zaliens," says Dez for the fourth time.

"We watched that last time!" whines Trish. "I want to watch something we haven't seen before."

"Ally, what do you think?" asks Austin noticing her silence.

"I don't care," she answers not looking up from her phone. She wonders if she can fake a phone call from her dad as an excuse to go home. Then her phone is no longer in front of her.

"Hey," she protests as Austin refuses to give it back.

"It's movie night," he says and passes the phone to Dez who slides it into his pocket. "No phones."

"We can watch Zaliens," Ally says with a sigh. The sooner they start the movie the sooner she can leave.

"You hate Zaliens," says Austin suspiciously. "I've tried to drag you to every single one and you always refuse."

"That's three against one!" shouts Dez victoriously. "Zaliens it is!"

He gets up to put the movie in and Trish huffs from her spot on the couch angrily. Ally rolls her eyes and walks to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" asks Austin.

"I'm thirsty," says Ally shortly.

"Thanks for offering to get the rest of us something," Trish says sarcastically. Ally holds back from saying something rude. After not spending any time with them it's gotten harder for her to pretend everything was okay.

"You want anything?" Ally asks politely turning around smiling thinly.

"Uh, no thanks," says Trish giving her a funny look. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing, I'm just not feeling that well," she lies holding her head as if it hurts. "Maybe I should just go."

"You can't go," says Dez sounding upset. "It's movie night! It's tradition."

"I've just been staying up really late working on my album lately and I'm really tired," tries Ally again. She has to work to keep her tone friendly.

"We totally need to talk about your first music video," says Dez excitedly. "I've got so many great ideas!"

Ally resists the urge to smack her forehead. "We're still a long ways away from making a video."

"All your ideas have to be approved by me," says Trish asserting her power as manager.

"Imagine Ally on a giant trampoline and there's snow and a octopus!" says Dez ignoring both of them.

"We live in Miami," points out Trish rolling her eyes. "There isn't any snow."

"Fake snow," says Dez as if it were obvious. He smirks at Trish.

"No," scoffs Ally shaking her head. "We're not doing that."

"Why not?" asks Dez frowning.

"Because I don't want to make a _stupid_ music video for _little kids_," snaps Ally rudely without thinking. The room goes silent. She clamps her mouth on her hand in horror after she realizes what she just said.

Dez stares at her looking so hurt it tears her up inside. Trish is glaring at her hotly and Austin is watching her with a weird expression. Her eyes fill with tears and her throat feels tight.

She just snapped at Dez. Dez, who has never said anything mean to anyone in his whole life, who has been nothing but a great friend to her. She's a monster.

This needs to stop.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers hoarsely. She snatches her phone from the still frozen Dez and bolts out the door.

_She would change everything, for happy ever after. Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster._

"What about a tour?" is the first thing out of her mouth when Ally barges into Ronnie Ramone's office the next day.

"A tour?" asks Ronnie stunned by her appearance and her question. He motions for her to take a seat and she does.

"A tour to promote the release of the album," explains Ally. "Is it possible?"

"It's not a bad idea," says Ronnie. "Your name is already out there from working with Austin and all the local stuff you've done. What were you thinking?"

"I want to go on tour as soon as possible," says Ally without hesitation. "The album is coming out in December and I could start the tour in January."

"January?" Ronnie doesn't look pleased. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to put together a tour? It takes months of finding venues, stage crews, opening acts, and a lot of musical politics. Not to mention that we would need time to promote the tour and sell tickets."

"It's a crazy idea," admits Ally. "But so was redoing my whole album when it was practically finished. We could check if there are venue openings and structure the tour around them. I don't care if the stops aren't organized. I'll do as much promotion as you want. We can spread the word about the tour now and start selling tickets around Christmas time."

"I can look into it," he answers looking frustrated. "But I'm not making any promises. If it's not working I'm pulling the plug."

"That's all I can ask," says Ally appreciatively. She's honestly a little surprised it was this easy.

"Ally, I'm doing this because your album is good and I think you can be a huge asset to this label," says Ronnie solemnly. "I don't send artists on tour just so they can get away from their problems. I'm your boss, not you babysitter."

She winces a little. "I know."

"You can go," he dismisses her. "I've got a lot of calls to make about this."

_She said I think I'll go to Boston. I think I'll start a new life. I think I'll start over, where no one knows my name._

It comes together like some sort of miracle. There just seems to be the perfect amount of cancellations and openings. The venues are all lined up and somehow a crew is put together. Ronnie calls her in to tell her the news when she's in the studio working with a producer tweaking the almost finished album. She practically tackles him in a hug.

"Okay, okay," he says pushing her away. "We've still got a lot of work to do. Right after the album drops I need you on the road doing interviews and appearances. We need to create some buzz about this tour. There's also the opening act to pick."

"Alright," says Ally still practically bursting from excitement.

"Then right after that I need you working with the stage crew, dance team, wardrobe people, and everyone to put this thing together. There isn't going to be any time off before the tour begins. Understood?"

"Understood," she answers trying to sound more professional. On the inside she's doing cartwheels and flips.

_I'll leave the door on the latch if you ever come back, if you ever come back. There'll be a light in the hall and a key under the mat if you ever come back._

Austin is sitting in the practice room with Trish and Dez waiting for Ally to show up. She sent them a text telling them to meet her here. None of them know what's going on. But he has a feeling it isn't going to be good news.

"She hasn't said anything to you?" Trish asks him with her arms crossed. Obviously she doesn't know that they barely even speak anymore.

"No, she hasn't been around much lately," says Austin checking the time again on his phone. She's a little late.

"Yeah, every time I try to talk to her she's always rushing off to some meeting or something," says Dez with a frown. "When's the last time the four of us did something together?"

"It's been a while," answers Austin sadly. That's putting it lightly.

"Hey, everyone." Ally enters the room looking anxious. "Thanks for coming. I've got some news."

"What kind of news?" asks Trish uneasily. She doesn't look like she thinks it's going to be something she wants to hear either.

"I know I've been a little distant lately," starts Ally hesitantly. That's also putting it lightly. "But it's for a good reason. At the end of September I realized my album just wasn't working anymore. I went to Ronnie Ramone and asked if we could take it in a different direction. He said yes. Since then I've been working nonstop trying to finish it."

Austin is stunned. He remembers her mentioning things weren't going well, but he never imagined this. He can't even picture asking Jimmy to let him redo a whole album when it was almost done.

"When were you planning on telling us this?" demands Trish. She's not stunned, she's angry.

"There's more," says Ally with a wince. "Last month we started putting together a tour."

"A tour?" Trish is livid now. "Ally, I'm your manager. You can't do these things without consulting me first! And I'm supposed to be your best friend too!"

"I really wasn't sure it was going to happen for a while," says Ally looking like she expected this. "I just found out it was confirmed this week. And as my manager and best friend, shouldn't you be excited for me?"

"This is not okay. We're a team," says Trish starting to pace. "We make decisions together. You can't just spring stuff like this on us. When Austin went on tour I was the one who put everything together. I was there every step of the way. It's like you don't even want me to come with!"

Trish stops pacing to look at Ally for a response. Ally doesn't say anything. She just gives Trish a guilty look then looks at the ground again.

"You don't want me to come with?" asks Trish sounding wounded.

"You're not just my manager, you're Austin's too. I'll be fine on my own," says Ally firmly. "And it's not during the summer like Austin's tour was."

"When do you leave?" asks Dez frowning. Even he can't stay upbeat about this.

"The tour starts in January," answers Ally biting her lip. "But before that I've got to work with all of the tour people to plan my show. And before that I need to go out and do stuff to promote the tour. So I guess in two weeks."

It takes a while for that news to sink in. Austin watches Ally the whole time and can tell she's just dying to get out of there as fast as possible. She keeps glancing at the door and then back at them.

"What is going on with you?" Trish finally breaks the silence. "I've been trying to be patient, but this is too much. You've been acting different for months. I thought it was just a funk or something. We hardly ever see you anymore, and when we do you're always moody."

"We're worried about you, Ally," adds Dez looking at her with concern.

Ally sighs like she expected this too. "The stress was getting to me. That's all."

"I miss you," Trish says sadly. "We all miss you."

"I miss you guys too," says Ally quietly. Austin can tell that she actually means it. "But this is important to me. I need to do this."

Ally turns to look at him for the first time. "What do you think? You haven't said anything."

"If it's important to you, it's important to me," he says simply. He doesn't smile though.

"Thank you," she says softly. Neither of them looks away for a long moment. Ally's the first one to break the connection.

"I'm sorry that everything is so complicated lately," apologizes Ally to the whole group. "Things are going to be different when I get back. I promise."

She leaves after that and no one tries to stop her from going. They all just sit together for a while.

"I don't care what she says, she's definitely not fine," says Trish with a sigh.

"Ally needs our support right now," says Austin even though he agrees with Trish. "There's nothing else we can do."

"Will you talk to her?" asks Trish. It's more of a request than a question.

"I'll try," says Austin running a hand through his hair. He has a feeling he won't be successful.

"Everything is changing," says Dez solemnly. "I don't like it."

Neither does he. There isn't much to say after that and they all go their separate ways.

_And I'm not certain of the way it was. And I'm not sure what I could have done. Oh I wonder if it'd be enough, to stop her from leaving._

Ally is doing a last sweep of her room to make sure she has everything for the next couple weeks. She doesn't want to forget anything. Her album comes out in three days, but she's leaving tomorrow to start what she's been calling the pre-tour tour. She's digging through her sock drawer when she hears a knock on door.

"Hey," says Austin standing in her doorway leaning against the frame.

"Hey," she says startled. "You didn't tell me you were coming."

"Just thought I'd stop by to say goodbye," he answers lightly.

"You can come in," she says going back to her socks and pulling out the black pair she was looking for. She tosses it towards her bulging suitcase.

He walks over and sits on her bed watching her force the socks to fit. "How are you feeling?"

"A little nervous, but mostly excited," she says coming over to sit next to him. "It's funny how a couple years ago I would have cried at the thought of being interviewed."

"You've come a long way," he says proudly. "You don't even chew your hair anymore."

She smiles at him. "You were a big part of it." He tenses a little when she says this and Ally gets the feeling this might not just be a friendly goodbye visit.

"Ally," he says slowly. "Is everything okay with us? Did I do something wrong?"

"No," she denies quickly. She feels awful that he's blaming himself. "No, you haven't done anything wrong. It's me. I'm the one who's screwing things up."

"What do you mean?" Austin looks so confused and upset it makes her feel even worse.

"I've been dealing with some stuff," she answers vaguely. "And I just needed some space. I still need some space."

"How much more space do you need?" asks Austin getting frustrated. "You've been avoiding me for weeks."

"I know," she says bringing her knees up onto the bed and resting her head on them. "You, Trish, and Dez have every right to be mad at me."

"I feel like I'm losing you," he says quietly. "It's the worst feeling in the world."

"I'm so sorry, Austin," she says her voice cracking a little. "But I just need to be on my own for a while. It's the only way."

"I guess I'll let you finish packing then," he says stiffly. When she doesn't answer he stands up and gives her another questioning look. Ally can't think of anything to say that'll make things better.

"Have a good tour," he mumbles before turning to go. It hurts to watch him go and she can't help herself.

"Austin, wait," she calls out and he stops. He turns around but his look is still guarded. Ally knows it's a stupid idea, but she does it anyway. She rushes over to him and wraps her arms around his neck. After a moment he hugs her back tightly.

"Gonna miss you," he whispers into her hair. She almost laughs out loud at the nostalgia. She almost cries too.

"I'll miss you, too," she whispers back trying to keep her voice normal. They hold on for another minute before she finally musters up the willpower to let go. She pulls back and his face is so heartbroken she wishes for a moment she wasn't going.

But she's doing this for them. It'll fix everything in the long run. So she smiles at him and doesn't let herself do anything else stupid.

"See you in March," she says lightly trying to get rid of the gloomy mood.

"March," Austin repeats with a frown. He stands there for a little longer before leaving without another word.

Ally watches him go then flops on her bed and stares at the ceiling. Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

_I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend. We could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in._

**Breaking Point by Ally Dawson**

**1. Breaking Point**

**2. Headaches and Heartbreak**

**3. Broken Walls**

**4. Turn it Off**

**5. Cracks**

**6. Leave Me Alone**

**7. Flashback**

**8. How to Ruin a Friendship**

**9. Are You Okay?**

**10. Avoidance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder**

**11. Unfinished Lyrics**

**12. Finally Me**

**13. My Apology**

Austin is scanning the back of Ally's album again to make sure he read it correctly the first time. Yup, it's still as dark and cryptic and worrying the second time around.

Ally arranged for him, Dez, and Trish to have their own copy delivered right at midnight when it was officially released because she couldn't be there to give it to them. He thinks it's sweet but would much rather be listening to it with her.

He knows one song. _One._ She said they went in a different direction, not that they changed every single thing! He has no idea how she pulled this off in such a short amount of time. A part of him can't help but be impressed.

The larger part of him is just uneasy and upset. She's supposed to be his partner. How could she not share any of this with him? He knows things are shaky between them, but he didn't think it was this bad.

His phone rings and it's Trish calling. He has a feeling he knows what she's calling about.

"Hey, Trish," he answers preparing for an unpleasant conversation.

"Have you seen it?" She demands without bothering with a greeting.

"I'm looking at it right now," he answers taking the CD out and walking over to his stereo. "I'm just about to listen to it."

"Wait!" yells Trish and her loud voice right in his ear makes him fumble and drop the disk on the ground. Oh great. He hopes it's not scratched.

"What?" he asks annoyed. Thankfully it's just fine. He blows on it and wipes it off on his shirt carefully.

"Wait for us, we're on our way over," she says and he hears Dez yelling his name in the background. "Focus on the road, idiot!"

"You guys do know it's like midnight?" He's not sure his parents are going to be too crazy about them coming over. Then again there's always the alternative window entrance Dez likes to use.

"I had a feeling we'd want to be together even before I got it. Now I know for sure," says Trish and he can tell she's shaking her head.

"Have Dez bring you in his way," says Austin not bothering to argue. Looking at the track list again is starting to make him feel like Trish is probably right. He wants them here for this.

"Get some snack ready!" shouts Dez before he hangs up. Austin does what he says. He hopes maybe some food will get rid of the queasy feeling he's had since getting Ally's album.

_I'm staring at the mess I made. As you turn, you take your heart and walk away._

The three of them sit in silence as the last song ends and the CD starts over. For a moment it's quiet and then Ally's voice fills the room again. Austin quickly walks over and shuts it off. He doesn't know what to say.

"Well, that was interesting," says Dez eventually. He's lying on his stomach on the bed with his hands holding his head up.

Interesting isn't the word Austin would use. He'd describe it as highly alarming or disturbing.

It's not that he doesn't like it. He thinks it's awesome actually. But it's the last thing he'd expect from Ally Dawson.

"I am a terrible best friend," declares Trish miserably. "How could I not notice what was going on?"

"None of us did," says Austin trying to comfort her. If anyone should feel guilty, it's him. He can't believe he didn't know Ally was this unhappy.

"It's weird. Really weird," says Dez sitting up. "But it's also really good. I like it."

"I wish Ally were here right now," says Trish with a sigh. "What are we supposed to say when she calls?"

"We tell her we love it," answers Austin firmly. "She's under a lot of pressure right now. She doesn't need us upsetting her."

"I think it's a little late for that," says Dez. "Her album makes her sound pretty upset already."

"I can't decide if I want to hug her or strangle her for keeping secrets like this," says Trish darkly.

"Guys," says Austin exasperatedly. "This is Ally. She's our friend. So we're not going to do anything to make her feel bad, okay?"

Dez shrugs and Trish agrees reluctantly.

The only problem is that Ally never calls. She doesn't call that night or for the rest of the week. And she doesn't answer their calls either.

_And I don't want the world to see me, because I don't think that they'd understand._

Ally's taking a break sitting at the radio station she just did an interview for when someone bumps into chair and knocks it over. She looks behind her to see a boy sprinting down the hall carrying a guitar case.

"Sorry!" he calls over his shoulder.

She's intrigued and she really doesn't have anything better to do. She gets up and starts going the direction the boy went. She ends up at a room with a small stage and a group of people standing around waiting.

The boy from before jumps onto the stage and everyone cheers. "Hey, everyone. Thanks for coming out. Sorry I'm a little late."

Ally stands a little apart from the crowd to watch. The boy looks to be about her age. His hair is dark red and constantly falling in his face. He flips it out of the way before speaking again.

"This song is called Iris by the Goo Go Dolls. Hope you all like it," he says before starting to strum the beginning chords to the song. His fingers move smoothly and the crowd watches him intensely.

When he starts to sing Ally is blown away a little. He's _really _good. His voice has a little bit of a rumble to it, but it works for him.

"His name is Owen Carlson," says Ronnie surprising her. She was so wrapped up she didn't even notice him. "He's a local legend around here. The radio station lets him play here once in a while."

"What do you think?" asks Ally still watching Owen belt it out on the stage. The crowd isn't huge, but they all love him.

"He has good stage presence," he comments with a nod. "Let's see what else he's got."

They stay for the rest of Owen's set. He plays a few more songs. It turns out he's not a bad dancer either. He even sings an Austin Moon song.

"I like him," says Ally with a huge smile.

"We'd need to find a band for him. And he needs a haircut," Ronnie says shaking his head. "We can't have him flipping it every five seconds. But I'm in."

"I'll talk to him," offers Ally as the crowd starts to clear out. Ronnie nods and she slowly approaches the stage.

"Hey," she says coming up next to him as he puts his guitar away. "That was pretty impressive."

"Thanks," he says looking up and flashing her a huge smirk. "It's always a blast."

"My name's Ally Dawson," she says not beating around the bush. "I'm going on tour next month and need an opening act. Are you interested?"

"Uh. Um. Uh." Owen goes back and forth between being shocked and overwhelmed. "Why me?"

"I think you're really talented. I'd love to help you launch your career," says Ally honestly. He looks like he's just won the lottery and she feels amazing that she caused this.

"There are just two more conditions." Ally holds up two fingers for emphasis.

"Anything," he swears without hesitation.

"You need to get a haircut." Ally swallows her pride and looks at the floor. "And I need you to teach me how to dance."

"Done and done," says Owen easily extending his hand out to her.

"Welcome to the tour," she says taking his hand and shaking it.

_I can live without you, but without you I'll be miserable as best._

"Ally, I'd liked you to meet Marissa. She's going to be your tour manager," says Ronnie introducing her to a tall woman with dark red hair in a tight bun.

"Nice to meet you," says Ally politely shaking the woman's hand. She looks like she's in her mid twenties probably.

"Pleasure," says Marissa with a nod. "I have things to do. We'll need to schedule a meeting later. Mr. Ramone can give you my number."

Marissa walks away with purpose and Ally watches her with raised eyebrows.

"_That's_ my tour manager?" she asks in horror.

"You didn't want Trish and I had to find somebody," answers Ronnie. "She's good at what she does."

"She's about as warm as an icicle," mutters Ally crossing her arms.

"She's here to manage you, not braid your hair and gossip about boys," says Ronnie giving her an annoyed look. "And you really shouldn't complain because-"

"I know, I know," interrupts Ally before he gives her the speech again. "Miracle tour. I'm incredibly lucky. I'll deal with it."

_If there's a place that I could be, then I'd be another memory. Can I be the only hope for you? Because you're the only hope for me._

Ally tries to copy the way Owen moves with the beat of the song. Sweat is dripping off her forehead and her tank top is sticking to her. They've been at this for hours now.

The song ends and Ally doubles over with her hands on her knees. "Break?" she gasps out.

"Sure," says Owen with a smirk. He's not even out of breath. He grabs his water bottle and tosses Ally hers.

"You're a slave driver," she says after chugging half the water bottle.

"You're the one who asked for my help," he points out wiping the sweat off his face with a towel.

"I really needed it," she says with a frown. She stretches her arms behind her back. Her body is really going to hate her tomorrow.

"You really did," he says shuddering as he remembers how she danced when they first started.

"I miss climbing the rope," Ally whines with a pout. Owen doesn't give her any sympathy and walks over to start the music again.

"Breaks over, Dawson," he announces getting back into position. Ally grumbles a few things under her breath but joins him. The music starts and she starts the dance again.

_I've been goin' a thousand ways, choked a hundred hearts in half as many days. Oh no, I think so._

"I've been doing some brainstorming about what we can do to make your concerts stand out," says Marissa flipping through the papers she has on her desk.

"What did you have in mind?" asks Ally with a frown. She can think of a million other places she'd rather be right now.

"You've got great songs and thank God Owen fixed your dancing problem." Ally has to restrain herself from commenting but holds her tongue. It's safe to say Marissa hasn't grown on her at all. "But you need a little something extra to be unique and get people's attention.

"Like a gimmick?" she asks making a face.

"Not necessarily," says Marissa ignoring her expression. She does that a lot. "We just need something to make you stand out."

"What if we make every show different?" asks Ally. She figures if she participates in this meeting it'll be over faster.

"Different how?" asks Marissa looking skeptical.

"I've got a lot of songs that I've never released that I could throw in. I could make up some over-the-top one time only routines for certain shows. There's always the stuff I've written for Austin too," lists Ally. "Me and Owen could do a couple duets. We wouldn't have to change a lot, but just make it so it's never the same as the last show."

Marissa looks pleasantly surprised. "That's not a bad idea."

"Thanks," says Ally a little smugly. She knows Marissa thinks she's kind of useless. She loves proving her wrong.

"Let's get to work," says Marissa pulling out a pen and a pad of paper. Ally sighs and settles deeper in her chair. It doesn't look like this is going to go faster after all.

_Every time I think of you, I always catch my breath. I'm still standing here, and you're miles away. And I wonder why you left._

"Want to go to a Selena Gomez concert next weekend?" asks Austin to Dez during their game of ping-pong. Except Dez didn't have ping-pong balls so they're using meatballs, which Dez keeps eating in between points.

"You have Selena Gomez tickets?" Dez asks excitedly. He abandons his paddle and lets the meatball roll onto the floor.

"Yeah, I got them for Ally a couple months ago and forgot about it. But she's…" trails off Austin before starting over. "I've got Selena Gomez tickets. Want to come with me?"

"I'd love too," says Dez. He picks the meatball off the ground and bites into it happily.

"Cool," says Austin grabbing another meatball from the bucket and bouncing it on his paddle.

"You guys will work things out," says Dez being serious now. "Just give it some time."

"I'm trying to," says Austin with frustration. But she's been gone for so long and still won't talk to him. It's hard for him to not lose hope.

"It's you and Ally. You're like two halves of a whole," says Dez. Austin gives a sort of half shrug and doesn't say anything.

"I'm totally making us t-shirts for this concert," announces Dez trying to cheer his friend up.

"You _really_ don't have to do that," stresses Austin. But he knows he's going to end up wearing it anyway.

_You need time to cope and time to heal, time to cry if it's what you feel. Life can hurt when it gets too real._

"I can't believe the tour starts tomorrow," says Owen with a huge grin. They're lying on the practice stage after one last rehearsal. Everyone else has left and it's just the two of them.

"Nervous?" asks Ally turning over to look at him. The stage lights make it look like his red hair is glowing. He cut his hair but it still almost covers his eyes.

"What do you think?" he asks raising an eyebrow. She's gotten used to his overconfidence the past few weeks. They've actually become pretty close.

"I am," she admits. She opened up for Austin once, but this is brand new territory for her.

"You've got nothing to worry about," he reassures her warmly. "You're an amazing performer."

Ally smiles at him widely. "You're not so bad yourself."

"I owe you for life for giving me this opportunity," says Owen dropping his joking tone and sitting up.

"You would've made it on you own eventually," she says shaking her head and sitting up too. "I'm sure of it."

"Still," he says moving closer and looking at her seriously. "Thank you."

Then before Ally can say anything back he leans in and presses his lips to her. It's warm and gentle and for a split second she enjoys it. Then she realizes what's happening and quickly pushes him away.

"No," she says holding up her hands mortified. "No, no, no, no." She repeats the word over and over.

"I'm sorry?" he says looking thrown off and a little hurt.

"You're a great friend and I love hanging out with you," she says quickly. "But I'm all sorts of messed up right now, especially in the romantic department. There was this guy, well technically he's still around, but not in the way that I am. And we're not really talking right now, but that's not the point. The point is that I'm not even a little bit over him. I mean I _want _to be. Things would be so much easier if I was. And I-" Ally rambles on nervously before Owen cuts her off.

"Ally," he says firmly. "It's okay. Really." He doesn't make eye contact with her.

"You're not upset?" she asks hesitantly. She knows what rejection feels like. It's not fun.

"I'm more embarrassed than anything," says Owen running a hand through his hair. "I knew you'd been dealing with something from listening to your album, but I had no idea it was still going on."

"Yeah," says Ally hanging her head sadly. "It is."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he says with a small smile. "It's not like kissing your friend and making everything really awkward."

"We could forget it ever happened?" suggests Ally. She really doesn't want to lose any more friendships.

"I would love that," he says going back to normal Owen. "Friends?" he asks extending his hand out to her.

"Friends," she agrees. They shake on it.

_When the world's crashin' down, when I fall and hit the ground, __I will turn myself around. Don't you try to stop it._

Ally is trying not to hyperventilate backstage as Owen finishes his set. Everything is happening so fast. She's been over her stage fright for a long time, but it's making a come back. She feels like she's going to be like that one girl from Pitch Perfect and throw up all over the front row.

"What's your problem?" asks Marissa with raised eyebrows.

"This is the first time I've ever performed like this," says Ally clasping her hands together to try and stop the shaking. "What if they hate me?"

"They're not going to hate you," says Marissa not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice. "Pull it together."

Ally shoots her a quick glare and takes a few deep breaths. Her anger at Marissa is a nice distraction from her fear. She claps her hands together and jumps up and down a couple times to get in the mood. Ally ignores the weird look Marissa gives her.

She passes Owen on her way to the stage and they high five. Then she walks out to her first concert and the crowd starts cheering loudly.

"Hey, everyone," she says into the microphone with a smile. "I'm Ally Dawson! Welcome to the first show of the Breaking Point tour!"

_You're gone, gone, gone away, I watched you disappear. All that's left is the ghost of you._

"Have you talked to her?" asks Austin perking up and not even bothering to hide the desperation in his voice. This is Trish. She'd see right through him anyway.

"No, Austin," says Trish rolling her eyes. "I haven't. Just like I hadn't yesterday when you asked. Or the day before. Or any of the days before that!"

Austin nods and goes back to his original position of slumped in his chair.

"I get it, Austin," says Trish more gently. "I miss her too. But she's going to talk to us when she wants to. There's nothing we can do to make her. I'd like to strangle her until she talks to me, but I can't. So stop moping."

"Why is she doing this?" asks Austin for what he feels like is the thousandth time.

"Why is who doing what?" says Dez coming back from grabbing sandwiches and tossing one to him.

"We're talking about Ally," says Trish before mumbling quietly. "We're always talking about Ally."

"Oh, Ally!" says Dez brightly. "I just talked to her yesterday. She's having a blast on tour." He says this casually before shoving an extremely large amount of sandwich into his mouth.

Meanwhile Austin starts choking violently on his bite of sandwich. "You _what?_" he manages to get out after some coughing.

"Yeah, she called me last night," says Dez not understanding the urgency in Austin's voice or why Trish was looking at him like that. "I think she was in Indiana."

"SHE CALLED YOU?" Trish screams putting Dez in a chokehold and shaking him. He drops his sandwich and clutches at Trish's hands. "Why did she call YOU?"

"Can't. Breathe," gasps out Dez. Austin leans over and pulls Trish away from him. Trish still looks murderous but lets go.

"I don't know why she called me," says Dez with a shrug. "She just did. I didn't ask. I didn't want to make her mad. I miss her."

As much as Austin wants to be mad at Dez he can't. Ally is his friend too and he's allowed to talk to her. He's really just jealous. If Ally had called him he would have done anything to keep her on the phone.

Trish doesn't feel the same way and Austin has to hold her back from going for a second round of strangling.

"You idiot!" Trish yells still struggling. "I've been calling for weeks and she won't answer! I'm her best friend! I should come before you! And Austin should really come before you!"

Austin's grip slips a little when she says that but Trish has apparently ran out of steam because all she does is sit down on the table looking upset.

"Maybe that's why," says Dez putting a hand on Trish's shoulder. "Because I'm just Dez. And she's not ready for more than that."

Trish seems a little stunned at this, but Austin isn't. He knows his best friend is smart in a way that most people don't see. Especially when it comes to people.

"Let's go to the food court," suggests Austin trying to lift the mood a little. The extra chair at their table is a little stinging reminder but nobody comments on it.

But that doesn't mean he's not going to interrogate Dez on every single little detail of what she said later.

_Sometimes I don't even know if I'm wrong or right. I try to drown my sorrow that surfaces every night._

Ally uses her concerts to maker her feel better when she misses her friends. On days when Marissa is being particularly difficult and she would give anything to have Trish here she adds Redial to the set list. If she's missing Dez she adds something new and different like The Ally Way or an interesting cover because she thinks he'd like it. The Austin days are the most frequent but she has a lot of different options between her old songs and his.

Two weeks into the tour she breaks down and calls Dez. They have a light and easy conversation, which is exactly what she needed. Other than that she just lets the phone ring and the texts come in.

The guilt is eating her up inside but she's not ready for their questions yet. She doesn't know if she ever will be. So for now she just clicks ignore and lets the calls go to her already full inbox.

_I miss everything you do. I'm half a heart without you._

Jimmy calls him in for a meeting and Austin can immediately tell things aren't good from the look on his face. His suspicions are confirmed when Jimmy tells him the news. He wants Austin to start working with a songwriter from the label.

"Look, Austin, I'm not saying I don't think Ally's a great songwriter," says Jimmy trying to calm him down. "She's very talented. But you've got to start taking your music seriously if you want to have a real career. It was cute when you were fifteen and just starting out, but you need a reliable songwriter now."

"Ally's reliable!" defends Austin loudly. Everything aside, he still won't let anyone say a bad word about her.

"She's got her own career to worry about," points out Jimmy calmly. "I don't think she's sitting around writing songs for you while she's touring and trying to sell her album."

"She knew I was between albums, so she didn't think it'd be a problem," says Austin. It's a little stretch of the truth, but he doesn't have time to feel guilty now. He has to save his partnership.

"This time you are, but what about next time? You don't work for the same label. No one is going to coordinate your schedules."

"Me and Ally would make it work," says Austin stubbornly.

"Have you talked to her about this at all?" Jimmy asks pointedly. His stare makes it clear he knows a little bit of what's going on.

"She's, um, really busy with the tour and stuff," answers Austin sheepishly looking to the side. He'd talk to her if she'd just pick up the phone.

"You're not even speaking?" asks Jimmy shaking his head exasperatedly. He looks at Austin with sympathy. "Austin, this has to be something you both want."

Austin looks down so Jimmy won't see how his words affect him. "Can I just have some more time for me and Ally to figure this out?" he asks quietly.

"I'll give you until the end of Ally's tour. After that, it's no longer up to you," warns Jimmy seriously.

"Thank you," says Austin standing up and shaking Jimmy's hand enthusiastically. "I'll fix this. I swear."

Jimmy just nods and Austin gets the signal he's free to go. He gives him one more thankful smile before walking out the door.

Now all he has to do is get Ally to talk to him. He scrolls through his phone and sees the seventeen times he's called already this week. He deflates a little. This might not be so easy.

_She hears the angels out on the streets at night as she walks right by. Oh they sing so softly. They sing "__Oohh whooah, oohh whooah, oohh whooah. Love's right behind you. Oohh whooah."_

Rule number one of interviews: no talking about Austin. Not their partnership, not her status as his songwriter, nothing. It was a taboo topic.

Marissa took care of it for her. She would casually inform whoever was doing the interview that there was to be no questions on these topics or no interview. The interviewers always accepted the terms, although some of them looked rather put out about it.

Ally felt a little bad, but it really helped her with staying positive during interviews. They were stressful enough without them asking you deeply personal questions about things you were still dealing with. She still didn't really like being interviewed. She just understood the need for the publicity.

Right now she's waiting for an exclusive interview about her album and tour with a fairly popular music blogger from Los Angeles. She's exhausted from last night's show and the man is already twenty minutes late. He was supposed to meet her in the hotel that they're staying at the next few nights so she was waiting in the lobby on one of the insanely comfy couches.

"The guy could walk in any minute, Ally," says Owen from the other couch across from hers. "You should probably try not to look like you want to murder someone." He flashes her a teasing grin and she smiles despite herself.

"I'm tired," Ally complains sinking farther back into the cushions. "He's late. And I'm bored."

"You poor thing," coos Owen with fake sympathy. Ally resists the urge to throw a pillow at him. Young female pop stars do not throw pillows in hotel lobbies. She does stick her tongue out at him.

"Cheer up," says Owen. "You'll do your interview and then we'll explore LA. It'll be fun."

She's about to answer when she feels her phone buzzing and pulls it out to check it. **Trish 3** is calling and Ally feels nervous and guilty suddenly. She's been calling a lot lately. Usually Ally can say she is busy with tour stuff, only she really misses her. She needs her best friend. But she did this for space and to be on her own.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees the man who's supposed to interview her approaching the hotel and decides this will work. She flips open the phone and says, "Hey, Trish!"

"ALLY! You answered! Oh my gosh. Why haven't you been-" Trish starts talking frantically before Ally cuts her off.

"Sorry, Trish! I'm just about to do an interview and the guy just walked in," Ally explains trying to keep all the guilt out of her voice. "I'll call you the next time I have some down time." Ally plans on it not being any time soon.

"Oh," says Trish dejectedly. "But seriously, Ally, you _need_ to call me. _And you need to call Austin_! There's a lot of stuff going on that-"

"Okay, got it! Love you! Bye!" says Ally quickly and then hangs up before Trish can say anything else.

There is seriously something wrong with her. She's a terrible best friend and client. She wonders how long Trish will keep trying before she gives up on her. And it's pathetic that just a name can make her feel tingly and alert. She'd thought she'd been making progress!

"You're still dodging your friends' calls?" asks Owen knowingly watching her with concern.

"I am not," lies Ally with a look that says don't push it. "Let's just get through this interview then we can do something fun."

"It's not my interview," points out Owen moving to get up. She grabs his wrist and stops him.

"Sit down," commands Ally. "My press is your press. He's asking about my tour and you're a big part of it. I told you I wanted to help you launch your career and I meant it."

"You're the best," says Owen quickly getting over his surprise and beaming at her.

Ally knows that's not true. She's selfish and a liar. But she smiles at Owen anyway before standing up to greet the man walking towards them.

_But don't stay up for me; don't wait up for me, if I'm not home._

"Ally Dawson was spotted today around the Los Angeles area with fellow tour mate Owen Carlson," reports the woman doing the entertainment segment on the screen. "The two were seen taking pictures at some of the famous Hollywood sites and stopping to sign a couple autographs. This is one of the many times the duo has gone out together, but both still deny the rumors that there is anything romantic between them."

"I don't care what they say, those two are adorable together," chimes in the other male reporter. The first reporter laughs along.

"Ally released her first studio album, Breaking Point, last month and it is currently in its third week in the top ten on the charts," continues the first woman. "Pretty impressive for a seventeen year old girl."

"Very impressive," agrees the man. "She's on her way to becoming a big name in the music industry. I can bet anything we'll be seeing a lot more of Ally Dawson."

Trish turns off the TV with a scoff. She should have known Ally wasn't going to call her back.

_She, she is the words that I can't find. How can the only thing that's killing me make me feel so alive?_

It's late at night and Austin is on his laptop watching videos of Ally's concerts online. It's not the first time. He's been watching them late at night for a week now.

He knows it's insanely pathetic, but it makes him feel like he's still connected to her. It's the only way he sees her anymore. He clicks on the first clip of her latest concert and the video fills his screen.

Ally parades onto the dark stage holding a microphone. She's wearing a red leather jacket, black pants with chains on the sides, and big sneakers. Her hair is parted to the side and thrown back in a low ponytail. She's wearing barely any makeup and walks towards center stage slowly and casually.

"_**Flip the switch, turn on the lightning," **_she sings without any introduction. The music starts up behind her and the lights come up. _**"Get it right, show 'em how it's done."**_

Her dancers come out all dressed exactly like her. The band behind her is too.

"_**Free it up." **_She steps in line with the rest of the dancers and they start doing choreography with a very familiar style. Probably because it's his. _**"Not matter how you dress that song, girl, you know, you got a number one."**_

She's singing Double Take. She's dressed like him, he realizes. She's recreating his first music video he made with Dez in his bedroom. And the crowd is going nuts over it. There's a slight pause before the chorus starts then everything gets louder and the dance resumes.

"_**They wanna know, know, know my name, name, name!" **_She's singing the original version she wrote for herself, but they probably don't know that. _**"They want the girl, girl, girl with game, game, game! And when they look, look, look my way, way, way, I'm gonna make, make, make 'em do a double take!"**_

He stares at the screen in shock and awe for the rest of the song. Ally is totally in her element with the singing, the dancing, and the attitude. It's like watching a tinier, female version of him.

"_**BOOM!"**_ she yells crossing her arms and tilting her head after she finishes. The stadium goes wild with yelling and cheering. Ally stays in her pose for a moment longer before smiling and standing up straight.

"As you probably noticed that wasn't one of my songs," she says with a laugh. "But I don't think the person who wrote it will mind." She winks at the crowd. There's another chorus of cheers at that.

Austin is a little offended at this. _He_ might mind. It is _his _song after all.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, Milwaukee," she says slipping off the jacket and pants to reveal a tight sparkly top and black shorts. She kicks off the sneakers too and a stage crew guy runs onto the stage and grabs the discarded clothes and hands her a pair of high heels. She slips them on easily before looking back at the crowd. "That's better. I'm excited to be here tonight, and I hope you all are too."

Austin glances at the clock. It's almost three and he should really go to sleep. But instead he just settles in to watch the rest of the concert. He probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

_Tell me what you want to hear, something that will light those ears. Sick of all the insincere, so I'm gonna give all my secrets away._

Ally is waiting in the wings before she goes out to do her encore in Minneapolis. It's been a great show so far, but the next song has her anxious. Two weeks ago she went to Marissa and told her about her idea.

She'd been reluctant, but Ally had finally convinced her. She was used to her kind of crazy ideas by now. It'd taken a while to figure out everything with the stage people, so she hasn't been able to do it for an audience before tonight.

The crowd is still cheering from her last song and she's waited long enough. She checks her appearance one more time in the mirror. Her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail and her makeup is heavy with sparkles on her eyes. She's wearing tight sparkly silver shorts and an equally sparkly black top. The only things that aren't sparkly are her shoes. That's because they're heavily padded and reinforced.

Ally figures she can't stall any longer and walks out onto the stage silently. The lights are still down, but the people close to the stage notice her and the cheering escalates again. Wow, she really loves Minneapolis.

Eventually things settle down and it's time for the moment of truth. The lights come up and there are sheets of glass scattered across the stage. The reflections cause a sort of kaleidoscope effect. Ally ignores them for now and launches into the first verse of Cracks strongly despite her nerves.

As the chorus approaches she casually walks over to one of the sheets of glass. _**"And my heart,"**_ she sings as she pushes the glass sheet over with a hard push. _**"CRACKS!" **_The sound of the glass braking echoes with the word perfectly. It was not easy learning how to make that work. _**"A little more every time."**_

"_**There's no going back, I barely recognize it as mine," **_she sings emotionally looking at the pieces of broken glass spread across the stage. She turns to the crowd and she can see the surprise on their faces. _**"I've got to get out of here before it shatters!"**_

She continues with the second verse and walks away from the broken glass. When the second chorus comes around she walks over to the next glass sheet.

"_**And my heart," **_she sings kicking the sheet over forcefully this time. _**"CRACKS!"**_ The sound is synched perfectly again and she feels relieved. This was the one she has the most trouble with.

She keeps going until she reaches the bridge. Then she stalks over to the three sheets that are clustered close together towards the back.

"_**You come around again, and my heart CRACKS and it CRACKS and it CRACKS!" **_She punches the three over in succession with the song.

The chorus starts again and she smashes the last sheet of class with a push just like the first one. The stage is covered in broken glass that causes the lights to reflect crazily as she sings the last line. _**"I should have gotten out of here before it shattered!" **_She holds the last note as long as she can before waiting for the crowd's reaction nervously.

The arena explodes in applause and screams. It's the loudest she's ever heard before. The people are leaping on their feet and shouting wildly.

Ally takes it all in with a large smile. Her eyes are a little watery. This is the best moment of her life.

_Today's a winding road, that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go._

"She released her first album this year and her first single, Cracks, is the number one downloaded song on iTunes right now," says the Entertain Me Tonight host Vanessa for her introduction. "Here she is, Ally Dawson."

Ally smiles at the camera and the interviewer. This is the biggest interview she's ever done. She's doing a live exclusive during the nightly broadcast.

"I can't seem to go anywhere these days without hearing your name," says Vanessa teasingly. Ally's watched her before on TV and she always liked her.

"My career has really blown up this year," says Ally with a tiny laugh. "It's crazy, but I love it." She's gotten better at interviews the past few months.

"Your album, Breaking Point, is now up to the number three spot on the charts. How does that feel as a first time recording artist?" asks Vanessa.

"It's incredible," answers Ally honestly. "I put a lot into this album. It means a lot that people are connecting with it."

"Another thing that people can't stop talking about is your performance of Cracks in Minneapolis last week," says Vanessa as a clip of the video plays on the screen next to them. Ally watches herself kick over the sheet of glass. "It's one of the top watched videos on the internet."

"A couple weeks ago I went to my tour manager with the idea," explains Ally. "I had decided to release Cracks as my first single and wanted to find a way to make it memorable."

"Well, you certainly succeeded," jokes Vanessa. "A lot of people are saying that what you did was dangerous and disturbing. What do you have to say about that?" Ally had a feeling this question would get asked and is well prepared.

"My fans' safety is very important to me," says Ally firmly. "I worked with my stage crew very carefully to make sure there wasn't even a possibility that anyone could get hurt. As for disturbing, it was just an artistic interpretation of the song. It was a one time only performance."

"What was the inspiration behind Breaking Point?" asks Vanessa. "There's a lot of speculation about the darker tone from such a young writer." This is another one Ally's heard before.

"Breaking Point is kind of like reading my journal," says Ally. "All of the songs come from the things I've gone through and the experiences I've had. I'm seventeen. I deal with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery like everyone else. I put all of that into my songs."

"You've got other experience as a songwriter, too. You're pop star Austin Moon's songwriter," says Vanessa casually.

Ally blinks dumbly. She just broke the _number one rule._ She looks at Marissa who's off to the side and she's giving her a hard look. This interview is big, the look says. There wasn't any room for demands. Ally gets it and hides her frustration.

"That's true," she says with a fake smile. She's getting a lot better at those too.

"The songs you write for him are very different than your songs," points out Vanessa.

"Austin and I write his songs together. He's very involved and that's why they fit his style. I write my songs on my own," explains Ally uncomfortably.

"With your own career taking off, are you going to continue to write for him?"

Ally doesn't know how to answer that one. This is so awkward. There's a reason it's the number one rule.

"We both know things are going to be different now. We don't know what the future is going to be like," she says eventually. She thinks that's good enough. She hopes that's the end of the Austin questions.

"What was his reaction to your album?"

Right when Ally didn't think it could get any worse, it does. For a second she's tempted to tell Vanessa she doesn't know because they're not speaking. She takes back what she said about liking her.

"Austin has always been my biggest supporter," says Ally and it's not even a lie. "He is a big reason I am where I am today."

"Thank you for your time, Ally," says Vanessa brightly. "Good luck with the rest of your tour."

"Thanks for having me," she says back like she's supposed to.

"Back to you, Kelly," says Vanessa to the camera. Then the interview is over and Ally finally relaxes.

Ally shakes Vanessa's hand quickly before stalking off the stage back to her dressing room. Marissa falls in step with her about halfway there.

"You did well. If I didn't know better I wouldn't have even noticed," compliments Marissa calmly. Ally is anything but calm.

"You could have warned me," snaps Ally rudely. She hates feeling like an idiot in front of crowds.

"It wasn't that bad," says Marissa opening the door to the dressing room for her. "Stop exaggerating. If you can't handle a couple uncomfortable questions, you should probably just quit the music business now."

It's times like these when Ally misses Trish the most. She's her manager and her friend. Marissa is not and reminds her of this constantly. Trish would try and make her feel better, not lecture her.

"I know," says Ally shortly before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her loudly. It's childish but helps her feel just a tiny bit better.

_Because I've kept my heart under control. But lately, all this time is taking its toll._

Ally wakes up the day her album hits number one to Owen jumping up and down on her bed screaming wildly.

"What is going on?" she shouts pushing her hair out of her face. "It's four in the morning!"

"They released the Billboard 200 for the week," yells Owen still jumping despite the look she's giving him. "BREAKING POINT IS NUMBER ONE! YOUR ALBUM IS NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD 200!"

"What?" she says having trouble absorbing the news. "WHAT?"

"YOUR ALBUM IS NUMBER ONE!" Owen screams again pulling her out of the bed and forcing her to jump with him.

It's a good thing he's holding her up because otherwise she probably would have fainted.

The rest of the day passes by in a sort of crazy blur. There are so many congratulations and her phone is blowing up. The calls, texts, twits, and messages keep pouring in. She's pretty sure the dopey surprised smile never leaves her face.

Marissa cancels the one event scheduled for the day and the whole tour crew gets together to celebrate. There's music and food and everyone keeps stopping her to congratulate her. All of the excitement is starting to make her feel a little dizzy.

Later that night she's lying in bed staring out the bus window. Her album is _number one on the Billboard 200_. She still can't believe it. But there's a hollow feeling she can't escape and she knows why. The people she really wants to celebrate with aren't here with her.

She picks up her phone and hits speed dial one without thinking. He's probably asleep, but even hearing his voice on his voicemail message is better than nothing.

_And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?_

Austin fights off a yawn while watching another one of Ally's video diaries from behind the scenes on tour. He's already watched fourteen and is getting pretty tired. The clock on his computer says its past two.

His phone ringing surprises him. Who is calling him this late?

He almost flings his computer off the bed in his panic attack when he see's Ally's name on the screen. He scrambles to pick up the phone as fast as possible.

He takes a deep breath before answering. "Hello?" He tries to sound calm even though his heart is beating ten times faster than usual.

"Austin?" She sounds surprised that he picked up. She probably thought he was asleep. "What are you doing up?"

It feels insanely awesome to hear her voice. It makes something in his chest fumble and he misses her more than ever. But he can't exactly say he's up cyber stalking her.

"I couldn't sleep," he lies closing his computer. "What are you up to?"

"I'm on the bus. I've had such an insane day," she answers sounding tired but content. "My album is number one on the Billboard 200 this week."

"No way," he says excitedly sitting up. "Ally, that's incredible!"

"I still can't believe it," she admits with a laugh. He really missed her laugh too.

"I'm so proud of you," he says in wonder. "Number one. That's so awesome."

"I guess I'm calling because I wanted to say thank you. None of this would have ever been possible without you," she says seriously.

He wants to ask then why has she been dodging all his calls and ignoring him, but he doesn't want to ruin this moment. He wants to talk to her for as long as he can. Plus this is her big day. He doesn't want to spoil it for her.

"You deserve it. I've always been an Ally Dawson fan. The rest of the world has finally realized what I did two years ago," he says smiling. He's glad she's finally getting the recognition she deserves.

"I wish you were here," says Ally softly. "Today didn't feel right without you."

"We'll celebrate when you get back," he says trying not to sound upset. "It's only a few more weeks."

"Yeah," she says weakly.

"I miss you," he blurts out before he can stop himself. He waits anxiously for her to say something back. He hopes he didn't cross the line.

"I miss you too," she says eventually. Her voice is tight.

"How's the tour?" asks Austin trying to get rid of all the awkwardness.

"It's amazing," Ally gushes. "I've never felt more alive than when I'm performing on stage."

"I feel the exact same way," he says. "But I've got one question."

"Oh," she says and he can hear the anxiousness in that one word. "What is it?

"When did _you _learn to dance?" Austin asks teasingly and she laughs.

"I'll tell you all about that disaster some other time, but I really should go. I've got a big day tomorrow," she answers reluctantly. The smile leaves his face.

"It was good to hear from you," he says honestly. It really _really_ was.

"Goodnight, Austin."

"Night, Ally." He would stay up for hours to talk to her. She does probably actually need to sleep though.

She hangs up and he sets his phone down still in a little bit of disbelief that that really just happened. It's not much, but it gives him hope that there's still might be a chance things will work out.

_It's just a drop in the ocean, a change in the weather. I was praying that you and me might end up together._

"I talked to Ally," Austin blurts out two days later at school during lunch. He can't hold it in anymore. He's actually surprised he lasted this long.

Trish pauses with a bite of potato salad halfway to her mouth. "You _what_?"

"I talked to Ally," he repeats with a nervous smile. "She called me. The night her album hit number one."

"I knew she would!" Dez says happily. They do a quick What Up.

"What did she say? Did you talk to her about what Jimmy said? Is she going to stop ignoring us?" asks Trish abandoning her potato salad and staring him down.

"Uh, it didn't exactly come up," he says sheepishly. He can feel Trish's glare on him before he even sees it.

"It didn't come up?" she asks in disbelief. "Austin! This is serious! Why didn't you ask her?"

"It was her big night and I didn't want to ruin it," says Austin unapologetically. Ally's happiness always came first.

"I have no idea why she's called you two idiots and not me," she says stabbing her food angrily. "Probably because I'm the only one who would actually make her answer questions and not ignore what's going on."

"She called Trish," says Austin smiling. "That means something."

"Whatever," grumbles Trish.

_And even when it hurts the most, try to have a little hope, that someone's gonna be there when you don't._

"So, Austin Moon," says Owen his voice oddly serious. "He's the one who broke your heart, isn't he?" It's late and they're sitting on the bus together. Everyone else has gone to bed and the only sound is the humming of the bus.

"You know?" asks Ally with a sigh. She'd thought she was getting pretty good at hiding it.

"I finally put all the pieces together," says Owen watching her closely. "You never answer his calls. You barely talk about him and get all fidgety when you do. You practically had a heart attack when he got brought up in that one interview."

"I did not have a heart attack," she protests pathetically. Because she kind of did and they both know it.

"You're still in love with him. And you're beating yourself up about it," continues Owen looking to her for a signal he's right. She nods. "That's why you avoid his calls and your other friends. This tour doubles as a way to hide from them."

"You've figured me out," she replies looking away with a miserable expression.

"I think it's stupid," declares Owen abruptly. She quickly snaps back to stare at him.

"What?" she says blankly.

"I think it's stupid," he repeats with no hint of sympathy or regret. "You haven't done anything wrong." Her surprise quickly turns to anger.

"I ruined _everything_," she says with venom. She glares at him. "I ruined my friendship with Austin, I ruined our partnership, I ruined our friend group."

"No, you didn't," he says not backing down. "You act like you did, but you didn't. You're the one who's avoiding everyone. You're the one who never returns anyone's calls. Your friends still care even though you try so hard to push them away. You're just feeling sorry for yourself."

"I am _not_ feeling sorry for myself," she practically shouts. "I want to stop pushing them away, but I can't. I'm still not over my stupid feelings, no matter how much I want to be."

"So what?" he demands. "You're in love with Austin. So what?"

This time she's too stunned to come up with a response. She's gone so long without talking about this to anyone, and this is not how she ever expected someone would react.

"You act like you've done something horribly wrong," he says staring her down. "All you've done is have feelings for someone. It's no secret I used to have feelings for you. But you didn't have them for me."

"And you know what I did? I sucked it up," he says without hesitation that it could get awkward. "I got over the fact that you didn't feel that way about me. I put our friendship before anything. I could have thrown a hissy fit and left the tour, but I didn't. I stuck it out and learned how to deal with it."

"But you choose to run and hide from everything and blame yourself. And it's stupid." He's obviously not doing anything to spare her feelings. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Stop beating yourself up over something you can't control."

"You have feelings for Austin? So what?" he repeats again softer this time. "You suck it up. You stop running and deal with it. You claim your friendship with Austin is important to you. Prove it. Learn how to be his friend again. You need to stop being so hard on yourself. _You haven't done anything wrong._"

Ally looks at him with watery eyes. After all this time, it feels like she can breathe a little easier. She quickly tackles him into a hug and starts crying into his shoulder.

"Thank you," she breathes shakily. "Thank you." She needed that. She needed it so much. She starts to sob harder.

"It's going to be okay," he assures her rubbing her back soothingly. "Everything's going to be okay."

And in that moment Ally actually believes him.

_Take a chance, make a stand. And break, break, break down the walls._

Her album drops back down to number four after three weeks as number one, but Ally's not upset. She's still so amazed that it was number one at all. The label is starting to say words like gold and platinum and it makes her head spin when she thinks about it too hard. Once upon a time she trashed an entire television studio at just the thought of people hearing her sing.

Lately in her spare time she's been reading and listening to all of her messages. The sheer volume of them intimidates her, so she's taking things slowly. She gets through more every day.

The voices and words are overwhelming, and she's tempted to just shut the phone and keep ignoring them. But she can't keep running forever. So she powers through and starts facing all the things she refused to hear before. She still doesn't pick up the phone when it rings, but it's a start.

_How long 'til I stop pretending, what we have is never ending?_

"You've called her sixty two times since you talked to her?" asks Trish looking at his phone with raised eyebrows. "And she hasn't answered once?"

"No," Austin answers with a depressed sigh. He'd thought her calling him was a sign things were going to change. Obviously he'd been wrong.

"How many texts have you sent her?" she asks losing track trying to count them.

"I'd rather not say," he says miserably. "She must hate me." He wouldn't blame her if she did. He's been a pretty awful friend this year.

"Hate you? She's in love with you!" Trish says with an implied duh in her voice.

He almost falls out of his chair. "Ally's in love with me?" he asks in complete shock.

"You didn't know?" Trish shouts smacking her forehead. "Have you listened to her album? It should practically be titled 'Austin Moon, I love you, from Ally Dawson!'"

"Ally's in love with me?" he repeats again with a huge grin taking over his face. He continues to stare off into space with a dreamy expression.

"You mean you… No freaking way," says Trish before yelling in frustration. "_Why doesn't anybody in this group know how to communicate_?"

_There's a ghost in my bedroom, and he's dying to meet you. God knows he's heard all about you._

Owen is hanging out backstage after his set. He's tired, but satisfied. It was a really good show. He feels like he's getting better with every concert. He really does owe Ally for life.

He should probably go and watch her. The girl was constantly doing crazy things and he doesn't want to miss anything. He can't convince himself to get off the couch though.

Speaking of Ally, she left her phone backstage and it's ringing. Owen picks it up curiously. The name **Austin** is on the screen.

He debates for a moment whether to answer or not. Ally might get mad. But he's always looked up to Austin Moon. Not to mention he's wanted to speak to the guy who broke his friend's heart for a long time now.

Owen mentally shrugs and accepts the call. "Ally's phone, Owen speaking."

"Hey, it's Austin Moon. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

_And I've never felt so free. There's no one else I'm trying to be, I'm finally me._

Ally is sitting with Marissa on the bus talking about her schedule for the next couple days. They're on their way to the last stop of her tour.

"Austin, Texas? Really?" she can't help but ask. The irony is not lost on her. "It couldn't have been Houston or Dallas?" Marissa just gives her an annoyed look.

"I know, I know," says Ally holding her hands up. "Miracle tour. I shouldn't complain."

"You seem happier lately," comments Marissa. She watches her with a thoughtful expression.

"I am," Ally says honestly. "I haven't really been myself for a long time. But then I got a serious wake up call and finally am starting to feel better."

"Good," says Marissa with a nod. "You're way too unhappy for such a talented young girl."

"You know you love me," says Ally with a smirk. Marissa has finally grown on her. She still likes to mess with her though.

"There's a fine line between unhappy and annoying," says Marissa with a frown. Ally laughs at her as she walks away.

She truly does feel better. She's finally stopped blaming herself for everything. Owen was right; she had been feeling sorry for herself. She was done doing that.

She was also ready to accept that her feelings for Austin weren't going to go away just because she wanted them to. She thought that distance and running were the answer but they aren't. Ally knows she has to stop letting those feelings keep her from being his friend. No matter how weird or painful it gets.

She hasn't completely gotten over everything. She's ready to see her friends and start making amends with heavy amounts of apologizing for being such a jerk. _Heavy amounts._

She's okay with Austin never feeling the same way as long as she gets his friendship back. That's what's really important. She doesn't care if she has to beg and grovel; she's getting her best friend back.

She's getting her other best friend back too. Trish is the closest thing she has to a sister. There's no way she's letting her slip away either.

She also owes Dez a huge apology for neglecting him and they way she treated him before she left. They have an odd friendship, but it means a lot to her.

The ending of the tour is bittersweet to her. She loved every minute of it. She has no regrets. She feels like she's grown up a lot in the past few months.

On the other hand she's ready to go back to Miami. She's missed everyone so much and can't wait to see them. She's also anxious to fix all the messes she left behind.

Owen walks into the room and sits down on the couch with her.

"Excited to be going to _Austin?"_ He asks dragging out the last word and waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Shut up," she says shoving him lightly. Just because he helped her sort out her life doesn't mean he gets to tease her.

"Come on," he says smiling widely. "It's funny."

"It's a little funny," she admits. But she pushes him again anyway.

"Are you sad we've only got one more show left?" he asks moving next to her again.

"A little," she answers nodding. "You?"

"A little," he echoes her with a smirk. "You're totally going to miss me."

"I'm still going to see you," she says rolling her eyes. She's pretty sure Ronnie would love to sign him.

"I could use a songwriter," he says raising an eyebrow at her.

"Already have a music partner," Ally says simply.

"Best friend?" he tries.

"Already have one of those too," she informs him.

"Strange but charming redhead who gets on your nerves but you love him anyway?" he asks with a lopsided smile.

"That spot's filled too," she says with a shrug. He pouts at her.

"There is an opening for annoying boy who has someone tricked me into being his friend," she offers smugly. He gives her an annoyed look.

"I'm calling you," he declares. "Every day. And you _will _answer the phone!"

"We'll see," she says nonchalantly. He groans and she laughs at him.

_There's no way I could do it without you, make it without you, be here without you._

"_**And my heart cracks, a little more every time," **_sings Ally for the encore of her final show. Even without the shattering glass Cracks is still the crowd favorite and she loves performing it. "_**There's no going back, I barely recognize it as mine."**_

"_**I've got to get out of here before it shatters!" **_she belts out loudly.

All of a sudden the lights go out and the bass starts thumping loudly. Ally looks around in confusion. This wasn't planned. Was something wrong?

Before she can decide the audience starts screaming wildly and Ally follows their eyes to the source of all the mayhem. There jumping out onto the right side of the stage is Austin Moon. With a microphone.

"_**And my heart cracks, every time I watch you go," **_he sings walking towards her. "_**Won't you come back, I miss you more than you know."**_

"_**I've got to find a way back to you before it shatters!" **_he sings to the crowd and a roar of cheers fills the arena.

Ally is frozen is shock for a moment then goes with it. She closes the distance between them before the chorus starts again.

"_**And my heart cracks," **_they sing together. _**"A little more every time," **_she continues. _**"Every time you go!" **_sings Austin as an echo.

"_**There's no going back," **_she sings. _**"Please come back," **_he sings back._** "I barely recognize it as mine,"**_ she sings again._** "Oh I miss you!"**_ he sings after her.

"_**I should've gotten out of here before it shattered!"**_ they finish together.

For a moment it's just the two of them staring at each other before the crowd explodes. Ally turns to them and smiles. She notices that Austin is still watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"Austin Moon, everybody," she announces and he finally snaps out of it and faces the audience. The applause gets even louder.

"Thank you so much for making this an amazing last show!" says Ally starting to walk off the stage. Austin follows closely behind her.

Ally is trying to keep it together with his sudden appearance. She doesn't say a word as they make their way backstage and neither does she. She was ready to talk to him when she got back to Miami, not now!

He grabs her wrist and forces her to stop. She slowly turns around to face him. He's watching her closely with a serious expression. She prepares herself for the questions and apologies.

He leans in and presses his lips against hers and she wasn't prepared for _this. _His hand that isn't holding her wrist comes up to cup her face as he kisses her deeply and longingly. She kisses him back once she gets over her shock. Because when the boy you've been in love with for over a year kisses you there isn't really any other reaction.

"Love you," he breathes out when they break apart for air. He lets go of her wrist and grabs her waist to pull her close before kissing her again. Her heart and mind are both racing while she wraps her arms around his shoulders.

She's been kissed before. She's kissed _him _before. But it's never made her feel like this before. It's intense and head spinning, and she doesn't want to remember that this is the boy who broke her heart. But she does, and she pulls away even as her heart screams in protest. They both stare at each other breathing heavily.

It takes her a while to remember how to speak. "But you…" she trails off still horribly confused. "You never acted like you wanted to be more than friends."

"After we broke up we were in this weird sort of in between thing," he says stepping back and giving her some space. He still doesn't let go of her though. "We weren't together, but we weren't really broken up either. And it was driving me crazy. I didn't know if I should act like your friend or your boyfriend."

"So I decided that I didn't want to do anything halfway," he continues steadily, his eyes never leaving hers. "I wanted all of you or nothing. And I was willing to wait for it."

"But then you started avoiding me and ignoring my calls," Austin says frowning. "I had no idea how you felt anymore. It seemed like you didn't even want to be my friend, so I assumed that more than friends wasn't even an option."

"I just thought you weren't interested anymore," says Ally weakly. "I thought I was ruining everything because I was still hung up on you after you moved on. That's why I tried to keep my distance."

"Trish says we need to work on our communication," he tells her smiling at her softly. It makes her breath catch in her throat a little.

"She's probably right," she says back with a smile of her own. He leans in and kisses her gently this time. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer.

"There's just one more thing," he says seriously as he pulls back. "You have to promise me you'll never cut me off like that again. Even if feelings change or things get hard."

"I promise," she swears. He loses his troubled expression and hugs her tightly.

"I missed you so much," Austin says quietly. "Like so so _so_ much."

"Me too," she says laying her head on his chest.

"Jimmy wants me to get a new songwriter," he says after a while and she flinches.

"What did you say?" she asks carefully not looking at him.

"I told him it was either you or nobody," he answers without hesitation.

"You're sure?" She doesn't want him to risk his career for her. She's never wanted that.

"Remember when I told you I couldn't do this without you?" he asks her moving so he can see her face.

"A couple hundred times, yes," says Ally with a small laugh. "You even wrote a song about it."

"What I really meant was that I wouldn't want to do this without you," says Austin seriously. "Me. You. Music. That's how it's supposed to be."

"I love you," she says back. Austin's face breaks out in the biggest smile she's ever seen and he pulls her close again.

"We should go," he says after a while with a sigh. "Trish and Dez are waiting in your dressing room."

"They can wait just a little bit longer," whispers Ally reaching up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. He doesn't protest.

_I won't let you go. Now you know, I've been crazy for you all this time._

Trish screams at her so loudly she thinks she might have permanent hearing damage. Dez squeezes her in his arms so tightly she can't breathe for a second. In the end though all is forgiven, she thinks they let her off too easily, and Ally tells them she'll see them back in Miami in a couple days.

Trish threatens her that she better answer all calls and texts she sends or else as a goodbye. Ally thinks she deserved it.

Their group starts to come back together slowly when she gets back. The tension is still there, but it slowly disappears. There are movie nights and sleepovers with Trish and writing songs with Austin on the piano at Sonic Boom.

That's the best thing she's gotten back: Austin's friendship. She had missed that more than anything. She knows she will never let herself lose it again.

Her and Austin are taking things slowly because this is too important to rush. It's holding hands while walking, light kisses, and just being together. She doesn't remember the last time she was this _happy._

She still isn't sure how everything is going to work out with both of their careers. Jimmy isn't thrilled when they announce they're sticking together. They know it isn't going to be easy in the future.

She and Austin release the duet version of Cracks together and it's even more popular than the old version. It gives her hope that they'll get through this.

One day the four of them are hanging out in the practice room while she tells them tour stores. It's like old times except Austin and Ally sit much closer and he has an arm slung around her shoulders comfortably. Dez watches them with a self-satisfied look.

"I totally called it. That's why they call me the _Love Whisperer_," says Dez lowering his voice and speaking to the side.

"Nobody calls you that!" exclaims Trish giving him an annoyed look.

"He actually did," Austin whispers to Ally quietly while Trish and Dez argue. "He's been bugging me about it since we were fifteen."

"Smart guy," she whispers back laying her head on his shoulder. He drops a light kiss on the top of her head.

"It's better than a romantic movie," says Dez emotionally.

That night she can't stop smiling because she's seventeen and there isn't anything she would change about her life at all. She's come a long way since the beginning of this year.

Her phone ringing brings her out of her thoughts. Austin's name is flashing on the screen. Ally answers it without a second thought.

* * *

**AN: **If you've made it here, congratulations. This sucker is so long. The first thing that popped in my head was the lyrics to Cracks and it kind of spun off after that. Seriously, it's so long.

Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated!This was my first Austin and Ally fic ever.

Here is all the music used in case anyone was wondering.

**Songs In Order of Appearance:**

Shouldn't Come Back by Demi Lovato

Candle (Sick and Tired) by The White Tie Affair

Almost by Bowling for Soup

State of Grace by Taylor Swift

Gravity by Sara Bareilles

Hurricane by Parachute

Upside Down by Ross Lynch

Somebody That I Used to Know by Mayday Parade featuring Vic Fuentes

Free by Haley Reinheart

Face to Face by Ross Lynch and Debbie Ryan

Let It Go by Idina Menzel

Miss Movin' On by Fifth Harmony

Little White Lies by One Direction

Total Eclipse of the Heart by The Glee Cast

Beautiful Disaster by Jon McLaughlin

Boston by Augustana

If You Ever Come Back by The Script

What I Know by Parachute

Jumper by Third Eye Blind

The Mess I Made by Parachute

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

Miserable at Best by Mayday Parade

The Only Hope For Me Is You by My Chemical Romance

Beekeeper's Daughter by The All-American Rejects

Missing You by Tyler Hilton

Rebel Beat by The Goo Goo Dolls

Alice by Avril Lavigne

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men

Magnetic by Jessie J

Half a Heart by One Direction

White Dress by Parachute

When It Comes by Tyler Hilton

She (For Liz) by Parachute

Secrets by OneRepublic

Thunder by Boys Like Girls

Under Control by Parachute

Drops of Jupiter by Train

A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope

You Can Come to Me by Ross Lynch and Laura Marano

Break Down the Walls by Ross Lynch

I Think About You by Ross Lynch

Ghosts by Mayday Parade

Finally Me by Laura Marano

Can't Do it Without You by Ross Lynch

Heart on Fire by Jonathan Clay


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